Image: Hayley & Kelsey, staff at Austin Wildlife Rescue where I spent 10 days as a volunteer, 10 very rewarding days, poems about it are in this section.

12.04.14: 62) Grackle shrieks, my early morning call

I look out the window, he’s on the wall

Fly’s off looks at me as if to say

Time to tell others to start their day

 

63) One of my tours features is helpin’ the smaller of God's creatures

My choice cos’ it’s said he hears even the smallest voice

Little bird, baby possum or rabbit,

Creatures of the night, creatures of habit

Winged, four footed, large or small I’ll be there to help ‘em all

 

64) It’s said for eatin’ out in Austin there’s nothing finer

Than the Buffet at the Fujian Grand China

One choice for all you can eat, soup meat, fish, something sweet

Value and plenty there’s no doubt

No wonder there’s so many big folk about

Sit and guzzle, but there’s a puzzle

Them skinny folk with plates piled tall

Where the hell do they put it all

 

65) Make ‘em laugh when you can, make ‘em think you’re a funny man

Something quick off the cuff, something short can be enough

Make ‘em smile for a short while

Or chuckle till their legs buckle

Cos’ one day at an eatin’ venue, shellfish claws were on the menu

I’m thinkin “just suppose, one were to nip me on the nose”.

Kid watchin’ so with perfect timin, broke into a spot of mimin’

There in that eatin’ place I brought a smile to his face

Make ‘em laugh I sure can, why shouldn’t I be a funny man

 

13.04.14: 66) Cool an’ grey at the start of the day

An’ I find I’ve a mind

To sit relaxin’ nothin’ too over taxin’

Enjoyin’ the silence, enjoyin the hush’

Take it easy, don’t wanna rush

Let the day unfold let me take my time

Let me capture the day in rhyme

 

67) A roar I hear behind, look in the mirror to find

Motorcyclist dashin’ soon past ne he’s flashin’

Closely followed by his mate, are they headin’ for heaven’s gate?

Ride like that an’ they could be

I thought “say hello to St Peter for me

Not all bikers are the same, some are quite sane

Like the Harley guty in the centre lane

Casually cruisin’ along, engine purrin’ like a song

No need to dash, less chance of a crash

The guy’s got the sense to take it steady

Yeah he’ll meet St Peter one day

But not till he’s good an’ ready.

 

68) Stint at Austin Wildlife Rescue done

I’m outside Stompin’ grounds it’s a warm afternoon

Band inside layin’ down a tune

Tune a remember but ain’t heard of late

Formerly by a group called The Band, the songs called “The Weight”

‘bout takin the load off Fanny, takin it for free,

Takin’ the load off Fanny an’ puttin’ it right on me

Thought back to long ago, how things had been

I first heard it when I was seventeen

When a shop I sought, an’ the record I bought

Playin’ it again an’ again, parents almost driven insane

Now the band’s doin’ another score

So I’ll end this poem now so’s I can compose some more

 

69) Pile your plate high, high as you can

I was told by the mud bug* man

An’ if that’s too much a chore you can always come back for more

We got mushrooms, potatoes, corn on the cob,

You’ll find it’s just the job

Years ago I’d never have dreamed I’d be eatin’ bugs well steamed

Fourth time in Austin, never been blue, each year something new

I’m here for the poetry, my main reason,

Didn’t know it was mud bug season

Pile your plate high I was bid, pile it high I sure as hell did

Mud bug, local name for craw fish every year when they are a certain size its’s a custom to have a craw fish boil at this time of the year.

 

70) Hot Tamale, Lost in Thought, and Element compare

Music and poetry will fill the air

We’ll be singin’, we’ll be sayin’

Getting out instruments and playin’

I’m composing it ain’t hard,

Inspiration at Kick Butt on Airport Boulevard

An, not forgettin;’ the guy you hardly see

Sound man Ernie B

717) We had Star Trek, a pause, the Star Wars

Lookin’ back we find Close Encounters of a Third Kind

The little guy on his roam, ET trying to get back home

But what of those who went before

A family Lost in Space, looking for a dwelling place

Flash Gordon breaking Earth gravity cordon

Justice to bring, defeat the evil Emperor Ming

Alien and Predator scary delight who would win the final fight?

Men from Mars, Women from Venus

Hide in Saturn’s rings, hope they, ain’t see us

Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury, Meteor storm cosmic fury

Places man has boldly been, from the safety of his tv screen

See where they been and what they done

As we travel on Spaceship Earth, Third rock from the Sun

 

14.01.14: 72) Mornin’ sky a sombre grey greyer than yesterday

Cold wind blowin’ been watchin’ traffic flowin’

Spots of rain, hope we don’t get a storm

Goin’ back to my room where it’s nice an’ warm

 

73) To Austin Wildlife Rescue I’ll be bound

Helpin’ creatures of air an’ ground

They said “volunteers we need ‘em,

To tend the animals an’ feed ‘em

Cos’ one thing here that ain’t on ration

Is tender loving care an’ compassion

 

74) Weather forecast said, we got thunderstorms ahead

For once they were right, sky as dark as night

Lightnin’ flashed, thunder crashed

Hailstones, chilled to the bones

An’ once again came the drivin’ rain

Now it’s gone, the sun’s come out an’ shone

Nice but it’ll be better when I’m knowin

It’s gonna get hot an’ like as not

That durned cold wind stops blowin’.

 

75) Kick Butt was robbed last night, it’s criminal, it ain’t right

In they bust, it sure ain’t just

A mans honest toils being their spoils

This mornin’ in the Motel parkin lot I was lookin’.

At a woman driver gettin’ a police bookin’.

Money she’ll be needin, perhaps a fine for speedin’

An’ this evenin’ a couples day was trashed

Findin’ their car window smashed.

Coops busy racin’ up[ an’ down

An’ I thought Austin was such a quiet town

 

76) Metal an’ lace downtown, Headhunters poetry goin’ down

Goin well, sure is swell

Imagination a quiver, down Red River

Head huntin’, to the stage an’ back shuntin

Been here before, now back for more

All knowin’ how good it’s goin’

Singin’ the blues, poems about the news

By aliens abducted, novices being inducted

Listenin’ enjoyin’ pleasure never cloyin’

Do they rhyme, do they not, do we really give a jot.

Cat comes in off the street, goes cos’ we ain’t got fish or meat

All we got is the word, the word of poetry gonna be heard

Still keepin’ imagination a quiver

Keep head huntin’, on Downtown Red River

 

15.04.14: 77) I went to Metal an’ Lace last night

To give Head hunters poetry a look in

I must have done good

Cos’ for next Monday they gave me a bookin’.

 

78 The winds’s cool but me it don’t fool

Cos’ it’s a clear blue sky

An’ this Limey chap’s gonna wear his cap

So the top of his head don’t fry.

 

79) It’s just gone six-o-clock, I’m parkin’ up in Round Rock

Doin’ what I like, gonna recite at an open mic

Sun’s still high in the sky, rush hour traffic passin by

Parkin’s free, that suits me

I’m gonna stop a spell cos’ I got some poems to tell.

 

80) Round Texas I’ve been goin’ as usual inspiration flowin’

To my delight, I’m writin' poems I can recite

Writin’ at my leisure to share with others my poetic treasure

An’ tonight it’ll come alive

At StarCoCoffee, Round Rock just off Interstate 35

 

81) A call from Ron, the stage I’m on

Introduction without ruction

An’ I get up an’ say poems I wrote today

From this mornin’ when the air was clear

To those I wrote when I got here

Takin’ the time, to tell folks my day in rhyme

Stop an pause to take the applause

Wonderin’ were they clappin’ cos’ I was fun

Or were they clappin cos’ I was done.

 

16.04.14: 82) Rose from my bed, showered dressed an’ went to be fed

Food an’ coffee set me up for the day

Then it’s pay, an’ I’m away

At no time did I feel I could have got a better deal

Back at my room I was locked out, to reception for another key

Then ask myself the question why did I buy gas station coffee

When the Motel coffee’s free

Why indeed?

 

83) Come on little bird open that beak

Unless you want to stay all scrawny an’ weak

Come on little bird give it a try,

Take this food from the Limey Guy

Yes take this food from the Limey Guy

An’ you’ll grow strong, strong enough to fly

So unless you want to stay all scrawny an’ weak

Come on little bird, just open that beak.

Another written at AWR

 

84) Last year I wrote about a place of eatin’ delight

That had become a construction site

It had been a fine, place to dine

Any time of day, be it work or play

Last year gone from my sight, me thinkin’this ain’t right

Now only memories to tell

Of what was before they built another hotel

But today while on a drive, I saw a booth that did survive

Surrounded by others like a band of brothers

An’ people got there by drivin’ or walkin’

Sat at the tables happily eatin’ an’ talkin

Provin’ whatever the city, whatever the town

They’ll never keep the small businessman down.

 

85) He was out of luck, his credit card stuck

In the parking lot ticket machine

An’ nothing was seen, where his ticket should have been

Things had stalled security was called

Who without doubt, would sort things out

But my story doesn’t end here; the other machine was actin’ queer

Made folks blue when their quarters dropped through

Prices there to see $1 an hour, maximum hours three

An hour would be long enough, for me to complete my stuff

So the Yorkshire Bard, paid with his credit card

Thinkin’ this‘ll be a hard act to foller

Usin’ my card to pay the price of a measly one dollar.

This happened outside Austin Library, and I did use my card again cos' another machine refused to accept quarters and like the library one there was no space for notes, grrrr.

 

17.04.14: 86) Morning sky’s a sombre grey, like back home in the UK

Forecasters say, there could be rain on the way

An’ though still warm, chance of a thunder storm

But it really don’t matter to me, cos’ I’m gonna be

Givin’ a  helpin’ hand, to abandoned creatures of air an’ land

When they at the Rescue Center all as one

Make me smile and become my morning sun.

They sure do, the li'l critturs grow on you

 

87) Lookin’ on the cage floor I could have cried

When I saw the cormorant had died

On wires it had been caught

To the centre by army guys in training brought

We hoped one day it would fly free

Fit and well for all to see but this was not to be.

And though its body we commit to the ground

Its spirit is upward bound

Where in heaven it will soar, flying free for ever more

Hard to believe when only a few days before it was eating small fish heartily. 

 

88) Familiar path beneath my feet, I’m walkin’ past a familiar seat

Familiar trees a verdant green reflect on the water completing the scene

Was first here in 2011, away from city bustle sure felt like heaven

An’ it even feels good in the gentle rain

To be walkin’ by the Colorado River again.

 

89) Green Mesquite & Barbecue, Open mic a new venue

Never been there before, treat ‘em to my latest score

An if they like it I’ll read some more

An’ listen to comedy music an’ song an’ whatever else comes along

Listen to whatever’s the rage on The Green Mesquite open air stage

Got there it was in vain, event cancelled due to rain

For poetry I was beat, but decided to eat

But what to choose nearly gave me the blues

Choose one meal, choose any, which one from so many

Decided on meat, selection of four an’ two sides

Chose one of French fries

Corn on the cob, completed the job

But eating it became a struggle, would I be beaten

And leave some of it uneaten

Not to be there was a Plan B

And I bless the cotton socks

Of whoever thought up the ‘to go box’.

 

18.04.14: 90) Last night rain, this morning sun

To go box breakfast eaten, now my day’s begun

To Austin Wildlife Rescue my car I’m gonna steer

Can’t wait to see the new arrival, a little baby deer

 

92) New arrival seen, layin’ there all nice an’ clean

Nose twitchin’, to pick it up I’m itchin’

Not a good idea. been said clear

An’ it’s nothing to fear while it’s here

But what’ known, is it’ll be free when it’s grown

Then someone whispers a word to the wise

“It’s time to feed the little guys”.

 

92) Cool winds caress my skin, contentment deep within

Natures blessin’ my body the sun’s caressin’

Waves lappin’ gently on the shore, lullin’ me some more

Birds sing, in the air or on the wing

Periodic hush, away from city rush

Close my eyes an’ smile, gonna rest awhile

Woken by thumpin’ music from a boat below#

Tells me it’s time to go.

I'd been enjoying a peaceful afternoon by a lake

 

93 and 94 are haikus inspired by my visit to the lake and what I saw

93) Gnarled branches twisted immobile

Like arthritic fingers of stone

Movement gone

 

94) Petrified timbers drought sculptures

On parched lad showing

No growing

 

95) Reservoir to feed the town, trees drown

Drought, dryness of the day, evaporates away

Old tree shapes see the light of day

Like creatures from below, now on show

Natures part in petrified art

Use imagination, see creatures from an alien nation

Twisted, petrified limbs reach, upward from stony beach

On show now but come the rain, once more they’ll be gone again

 

19.04.13: 96) Last night a knock on my door before I got to slumber

“Sorry” the guy said “ I got the wrong number”

Still it could have been worse if he’d have said

“Do you want a woman to share your bed?”

 

97) At Wildlife Rescue a crawfish boil

Seemed like a good idea for our toil

Time to tuck in so I got stuck in

Madeline says “we ain’t heard your poems yet,

will you read ‘em?” I said “you bet”

No need for dread I upped and read

Poems about what I’d seen and what had been

She was moved, an’ she approved

What I’d writ was a hit

How I’d captured moments in time

And kept them immortalised in rhyme

 

98) Into the parking lot came dashing

The Fire Truck with its lights flashin’

An’ it was a surprise to those fireguys

And how, when I told them I once did what they’re doing now

An’ how I’d taken the time, to capture my service in rhyme

They said “we’ve a guy that does the same”

He’s into the poetry game

So if I’m here next year

It would sue be neat, if two poetic minds could meet

Swap with each other a poetry score

Cos’ by then I’ll have written a whole lot more.

 

99) Thom says “take a break a short journey make

Don’t get tour blues, head out to Dave an’ Sues

There’ll be coffee, food an’ beer, it only happens once a year

Easter Sunday, always a fun day”.

I said “I will”, an’ followed the road through Webberville

Arrived an’ was met with a smile,

Dave said “get a drink an’ stop a while”

We sang, we spoke, we made a joke

Talents shared, listenin’ showed we cared

Stories told, let the afternoon unfold

Meetin’ folks for the first time

The Road Poet tells of capturing his travels in rhyme

Artist doin’ his pictures in mud, sure looks good

I’m enjoyin’ stayin’, listening to guitarist an’ fiddler playin’

Food on the table, enjoyin’ it I’m able

The folks I met made it all worthwhile

Great hospitality Texas style

 

100) Kick Butt, Thom I follow on, once more the stage I’m on

Tellin’ folks in rhyme about my travelin’ time

How I’d driven far in my hire car

Rollin' two poems into one was what I’d done

First day, overnight stay, second day, back on the highway

Hope they knew the States and parts of Texas I passed through

And got the gist as they rolled off my tongue like a list

Across the American plain till I got back to Austin again

An' later I’m gonna read some more

Poems from my 2014 annual Texas Tour

 

20.04.14: 101) Thinking about last night, my final spot went alright

A poem about, why there are so many large people about

An’ something that may matter,

A question, how some skinny folk can eat so much

And not get any fatter

Then one about the time I broke into a mime

Made a kid smile, for a while

Two of the many poems unravelin’

What I find to write about, when in Texas I’m travelin’

 

102) Break of day, warm but the sky’s grey

Gentle drizzle like a refreshing spray

I’m in my room not consumed with gloom

Breakfast done, writin’ already begun

Still capturing in rhyne, my tours moments in time

An’ when I read ‘em I find, I’m back there in my mind

An’ let it roam, free round Texas, my spiritual poetry home

 

103) Soon I’ll be away at the center for my last day

It’s been grand, helpin’ animals of air water and land

Seein’ to their needs, beddin’ changes an’ feeds

An’ it meant so much when I got to touch

An’ they didn’t start yelpin’ those that I was helpin’

They captured my heart, as I played my part

On their arrival, given the chance of survival

An’ when I drive away from here

I’ll be thinkin’ not just an international poet

But an international animal rescue volunteer

 

104) Yesterday to work they were bound

An’ stopped to see what people had gathered round

An injured deer lying on the ground

Such a hullabaloo, as folks wondered what to do

Some said “shoot it” they thought “bad choice we’ll refute it”.

Seems like they knew, of Austin Wildlife Rescue

So with the greatest of care, drove it there

An’ it never mattered, that their car got blood splattered

When faced with a life’s test, they gave their best

The deer though never survived, in caring hands with dignity it died

An’ they did themselves proud, not passin’ by on the other side.

 

105) Racoons in the cage there were three

We were interactin‘ them an’ me

They were climbin’ the cage high and low

Chasin' my fingers wherever they’d go

Not perturbed or disturbed, lookin’ up made me feel blue

I realised not only was the plane flyin’, but time was flyin’ too.

 

106) Homeless, life a mess, his sign said “anything welcome, God bless”

I gave him some change from my pocket “Thank you sir” he said

So why instead of feeling good did I look away and cry instead

Anyone want to hazard a guess

 

107) To Headhunters in my car, tonight I’m the feature, the star

There I’m headed; don’t want to get big headed

Recite loud, recite proud

Listen to singer, poetic sister and brother

Enjoy an’ respect each other

Tonight respect, practice what I learn

Cos’ next week it’s someone else’s turn

So whoever it is next Monday night

I’ll be wishing them well from my homeward flight.